The Minotaur
by Legolas Nordark
Summary: When a new hyper deadly disease appears, Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and medical student Connor Jenkins must find a cure fast, or the human race may cease to exist. Inspired by Mission Impossible 2 and dedicated to Chizzel1993 for all the support he's given me. Also, this is a Sonadow fic. Gay haters be warned.
1. Chapter 1

All right, kiddies. Here's yet another story of mine. I got the idea for this after watching Mission Impossible 2. The whole 'brand new hyper deadly desese' idea really appealed to me. So, here's my own twist on the idea, one that will leave the ending in your hands...

Ladies and Gents: The Minotaur!

X-X-X-X-X-X

Sonic walked into the kitchen of his apartment. As he entered, he was greeted by the smell of bacon and syrup. The room was basic, holding a round table that sat 4, a couch and TV, and a small kitchenette where Shadow was just finishing their breakfast.

"Morning Sonic," Shadow said without turning away from the stove. "Ready for pancakes?" Sonic just licked his lips as he sat down at the table. Shadow brought over the plate of pancakes, along with a cup of coffee for himself, and some hot chocolate for Sonic. The two ate in silence, and before long they were done. After the meal they just sat across from eachother sipping their drinks.

Sonic and Shadow had been dating for almost a year now, but hadn't told anyone. Sonic was the real reason they'd keep their love a secret. At first the blue hero thought being gay would hurt his image, but to help calm him Shadow told him that it would help other gays be more comfortable with their identity. Still, Knuckles was a bit homophobic, never exactly comfortable with the idea of 2 people of the same gender sleeping together, and if Amy found out...let's just say we don't want another crazy person plotting to kill Sonic.

"So," Shadow said after awhile, "You up for visiting Apotos today?" Sonic just shrugged as he focused on his mug. "We could get one of those Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supremes you told me about. From the way you described it, it sounded like you almost enjoy them more than chili dogs." Sonic just continued to stare at his mug, until it was shattered by a chaos spear.

"Shadz, what the hell?!" Sonic asked, rather annoyed, "I thought we agreed no more using cups for target practice." "Sonic," Shadow replied with a hint of worry in his voice, "Something's wrong. I can tell by the way you're acting. What is it?" Sonic just sighed.

"It's Eggman." Sonic explained after a minute. "There's been nothing on him for the past 6 months. He hasn't even come looking for you, and although I know how many times he's tried to kill me, I'm worried for him." Shadow nodded before making an offer. "I'll go check in on him, and then meet you in Apotos. Sound good?" Sonic agreed, and after the dishes were done, and the broken mug in the trash, Shadow chaos controlled over to Eggman's base.

X-X-X-X-X-X

When Shadow arrived at the base, it was surprisingly quiet. You could hear a pin drop if you tried, and that meant something was wrong. Shadow knew from past experiences that It never took The Doctor more than a month to draw up blueprints, and after that his base just got busier and busier as he built whatever his doomed plan was. If things were this quiet six months after The Doctor's last defeat, then something was very wrong.

It wasn't hard for Shadow to find Eggman's quarters, and when Shadow opened the door he got a real shocker. Stuck in his bed was the brilliant Dr. Eggman, and from all the equipment that surrounded the bed, it looked like Eggman was sick. Very sick. "Shadow?" The Doctor managed to ask "Is that you?" Shadow approached the bed, but halfway across the room Eggman forced himself up, stopping Shadow dead in his tracks.

"Don't come any closer." The Doctor instructed, "I'm sick Shadow. I know you, being the Ultimate Lifeform, don't get sick, but this disease is something new, something diffrent, and I'm afraid only that young kitsune will be able to cure it. Be careful, Shadow. Not even you...you..." Before Eggman could finish his warning, he fell back on his bed, limp and pale. Blood started to run out of his nose and Shadow knew for him, it was over. Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik was dead.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Well, that it for the first chappie. After Jan. 14, I plan to start posting every other saturday (check in to the new post in my story One Day More! for details), but since this is gonna be so short, I'm gonna post a new chapter every week, so check back on Jan. 12, and you'll know what happens next. This story should olny be about 5 chapters long, so be ready to make a choice, one that will leave you hating me beyond all reason...R&R ^-^


	2. Chapter 2

And so the story continues! this chappie's olny 551 words (including author's notes), but length comes with 2 weeks of wrighting...and in all my storys excluding this one. This one is just a little side project. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclamer: I have no ownership of Sonic, Shadow, or the Chocolate Chipped Cream Sunday Suprieme

X-X-X-X-X-X

Sonic stood by the ice cream cart, wondering what was keeping his boyfriend. he had already paid the fee of 120 rings for two Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supremes, and If Shadow took much longer, then the ice cream risked melting. The vendor, recognising Sonic had offered the ice cream on the house, but Sonic insisted on paying, something about having waaaaaaaaay too many rings.

There was a gust of wind, and in a flash of light Shadow appeared. The sudden appearance startled the vendor. "Woah," He asked Sonic in amazement, "Who's that? That your clone or something?"

"Actually," Sonic explained, walking over to give Shadow a quick kiss, "He's my date." The vendor just laughed as he handed the two hedgehogs the ice cream cones. With ice cream in hand, the couple walked down the streets of Apotos. After enjoying the scenery (and ice cream) for a bit, Shadow felt it was important to mention Eggman's fate to Sonic. "Sonic," Shadow said as his boyfriend ate his ice cream like his life depended on it, "The Doctor, he's dead."

This shock caused the azure one to drop the cone he was ever so enjoying. "What do you mean he's...ohh. BRAINFREEZE!" Shadow just chuckled as Sonic pointlessly beat his head while he experienced the brainfreeze of a lifetime. "He had some kind of hyper-deadly disease." Shadow explained once Sonic calmed down, "He said only Tails would be able to find a cure."

Sonic just sighed at hearing this. "So much for our date." Shadow nodded. "I already brought the body to Tail's workshop. We should probably head there now. If you're up for it, maybe we could race there." Sonic's eyes lit up at hearing this. "You're on. But, what about you? You said the disease was hyper deadly. Are you infected, or what?"

Shadow shook his head. "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, remember? Naturally, I can't get sick, my body just doesn't respond to any form of bacteria or virus."

Content with hearing this, Sonic and Shadow got in starting position, but just as Sonic pushed off, Shadow had to fake a fumble. Taking advantage of the head start, Sonic speed off, leaving Shadow coughing like a madman. Shadow had used his glove to cover his mouth, but when he was done coughing, the ebony hedgehog was both shocked and frightened to find drops of blood on the white fabric.

X-X-X-X-X-X

You might have noticed by now that I'm useing a lot of locations from Sonic Unleashed. This game is nowere near my favorites (Sonic or of all time), but it did provide with a globe of Mobius, or as some call it, Sonic's World. This global thing will come into play a bit later. Remember to R&R and I might post on Wednesday instead of Saturday.


	3. Chapter 3

OK, I now know just how long this story's gonna be, and I've settled on 5 chapters. This is chapter 3, and...wow. This chapter is waaaaay too long to be in this story. I ment each chapter to be a couple hundred words each, this ones roughly 1,500! ...Lucky readers.

Disclamer: I have no ownership of Sonic or Shadow.

Connor Jenkins is property of Chizzel1993.

X-X-X-X-X-X

The two had arrived at Tail's workshop in the Mystic Ruins. The copper building was placed on a ridge that overlooked the sea, and was rather small looking from the exterior. to the right of the door there was a long flat area that contained a runway for The Tornado, the plane that belonged to the young kitsune. Overall the place was remote, quiet, and peaceful, making it an ideal location for a 12 year old to invent away free from distractions. "Looks like I win again Shadz!" Sonic said, a cocky smile on his face.

"Whatever," the ebony one said a bit harshly, "Let's just see if that kit's found anything yet." Sonic just stood in silence as his boyfriend entered the building. Shadow hadn't been like this to Sonic for a long time, Hell, Shadow had become a happy, kind, cuddly hedgehog around Sonic a little under a month after the two had started dating, so seeing Shadow like this meant something was up. As the two headed down the stairs that lead down to the underground lab, Sonic and Shadow started to pretend to argue. The two had to maintain some way of showing they were still rivals, and definitely not a gay couple, so when they were with friends, they tended to argue about something pointless.

"...I keep telling you, you blue idiot," Shadow practically yelled as he came down the last few steps, "Sonic 06 was unfinished!" Sonic just laughed at this.

"That doesn't matter. It was a bad game bombarded with glitches. A human girl kisses my corpse for the love of chaos!"

"Uh, guys? Can you keep it down?" a male voice asked.

"Sure thing Tails." Sonic answered without taking his eyes off shadow. "Now as I was saying..."

"Sonic," Shadow pointed out, "That wasn't Tails." Sonic turned around to a man in a lab coat looking over Eggman's corpse. "Hey guys!" Tails said as he exited from the bathroom that was adjacent to the lab, "I'd like you to meet Connor Jenkins." The man, at hearing his name, turned around. He had white skin and short, blonde hair. Under the lab coat he wore a white shirt and gray skinny jeans, along with black and white converse. His eyes were different colors, something that honestly creeped Sonic out. The left one was blue, and for some unnatural reason (of awsomeness) the right one was red. His voice was that of a tenor, neither deep nor high, and wasn't gruff. "Wow," was all the young man could say. "Sonic the Hedgehog, in person. Just...wow."

"Connor is a medical student." Tails explained, "He's currently training to be a pharmacist at Station Square Medical School." Connor barely even heard the young kitsune. Apparently the young medical student was too busy staring at Sonic. The only thing that keeps the shock transfixed kid alive was the fact Shadow sneezed. That's right. We have a young medical student trying to cure a brand new, hyper deadly disease, and Shadow almost kills him because he got board.

"Nice going, fluffy chest," Connor said sarcastically, completely ignoring the fact he almost DIED, "I'm the world's only hope at finding a cure, and you go and attempt murder. Seriously, if you were anyone else I'd have you arrested." Shadow just smirked at hearing this, that is until he was hit by Sonic. "Really Shadz?" Sonic asked, thinking they were past the point of pointless gunfire from Shadow. Shadow just shrugged, wearing a ridiculous, innocent face. Tails just shook his head.

"Ignoring my assassination," Connor continued, "Maybe I should should explain just what this disease is. This is an all new virus. Somehow, 2 individual Bacterial Phage will attach themselves to a red blood cell."

"But that's impossible," Shadow interrupted. "Bacterial phages can only attack bacteria, hence the name Bacteria Phage."

"Glad to see you know you homework," Connor complemented Shadow,"But this is happening. And the Phages aren't infecting the blood cells. Once a cell has two phages, the two begin to pull in opposite directions until the blood cell literally rips apart. It's both painless and deadly. If a cure isn't applied within 24 hours, the victim will die within another 12."

"Can you even make a cure?" Sonic asked. Connor just zoned out at hearing this. He reached into his lab coat and from it produced some high end cigarettes. He then put one in his, mouth, lit it, and took a big inhale. He sighed as he exhaled, and once he had done so his face seemed to change. The human, who had been happy and cheerful (and a bit cocky) was now what seemed...tired and distant. "Ya," he said quietly after a while. "I...made the disease." This caught everyone off guard. "Someone came in one day," Connor began to explain. "He gathered a few of us into a team and asked us to create a new virus to prototype biological warfare. We succeeded, along with creating a cure. It wasn't easy either, and for some reason people, human and mobian alike, with Type O blood remain unaffected. I was on my way to the rendezvous point when Eggman, in person, stole it. I...In an attempt to keep him from using it, I injected the disease into his body. Only issue with that is how I designed the virus to spread. Several hundred Phages come out of every exhale of an infected victim, making it hyper contagious."

"The Visitor was probably from GUN." Shadow concluded. "I remember them mentioning something about planning to try biological warfare." Connor just shrugged. "Does it matter?" the human responded to the ebony one, "I can have enough of the cure ready for everyone on the planet in 3 hours. Do you want to help me with that, or do you want to analyze and hypothesize a timeline that was avoided?" Sonic and Shadow looked at one another. "What do we have to do?" The azure one asked, putting a smile on the human's face.

X-X-X-X-X-X

-3 Hours later

"Stand back," Connor instructed, "I'm adding the cesium" Shadow couldn't help but wear an eye to eye smile as the highly reactive alkali metal was moved into place over the solution the 4 had spent the last 3 hours making. "Remind me why we have to blow up the cure?" Sonic said, highly skeptical about this step in the process. "We've created an insanely powerful acid," Connor explained for the tenth time, eyes not leaving the large beaker on the table, "The explosion caused by the cesium, for some reason that not even I get, destroys all corrosive properties of the solution, leaving a liquid that's safe to inject, but pure poison to any possible virus the person on the hypodermic end of the needle might have."

Connor dropped the cesium he was holding with his tongs into the beaker, and instantly there was an explosion within the liquid, sending water to every possible part of the inside of the beaker. If it weren't for the arrgon gas that had been circling in the dry part of the beaker, there's a good chance our heros wouldn't just have glass on the floor, but a few pieces in them as well. Within another 15 minutes Connor and Tails had the cure in thousands of hypodermic needles. "Mass distribution of a medical cure," Shadow said, eyeing the needles as they were loaded into the cases the two hedgehogs were to carry, "Sounds like a good excuse to see the world." Sonic could only laugh at hearing this.

"Well," Connor said as he closed the last of the four cases, "You should each take two. Sonic should distribute these among the northern hemisphere and Shadow should take the southern hemisphere." The two hedgehogs nodded and in seconds were out the door, medicine in hand. once the two had left, Connor sighed and lit up a smoke.

"This is all my fault." Connor said aloud after a few minutes. "If I hadn't perfected this virus then the world wouldn't be in danger."

"You didn't know what that person wanted with the virus," Tails said, trying to ease Connor's conscience, "And there's no way you could've foreseen Eggman trying to take it, much less in person."

"I killed a man." Connor said, throwing his hands up and pushing away the kitsune. "From the moment that needle reached Eggman's blood stream he was dead. I killed him and nearly sentenced 95% of this planet to the same fate. How can I live with that on knowing that, Tails?" The kit tried to come up with an answer, but drew a blank. Connor just sighed before reaching into his lab coat and pulling out an M9 Handgun. He put the gun to his head and gave a small chuckle. "Lights out" he said before pulling the trigger, and sealing his fate. A lone tear rolled down Tails' cheek. Connor had been a good friend of the kitsune, and Tails was looking forward to many more medical adventures with the human. _Although this did reveal something rather interesting about the moral beliefs of people..._Tails' new train of thought was interrupted by a mad fit of coughing. Tails used his glove to cover his mouth, and when he was done there were specks of blood on the white fabric.

X-X-X-X-X-X

And the suspense builds! I said 5 chapters, and this is chapter 3, so be ready for the next chapter. The choice is just around the corner, and I can't wait! Chizzel, I hope you liked Connor's part and, to my regret, the death was necessary. Well, Be shure to R&R!

(Please do not bother me about chemical and biological impossibilitys this chapter may have. My story. I can do what I want. Plus, when did the science of Sonic ever make sense? TT-TT)


	4. Chapter 4

All right, Here it is. The second to last chapter of The Minotaur. And it's time for the long awaited choice that will determen the ending of the story, and the fate of one of our heros...

Disclamer: I have no ownership of SEGA, Sonic, or anything that might violate copyright

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Oh thank you!" The Elder of the frozen wasteland said graciously, "We will use the medicine sparingly." Sonic just smiled. He turned to run off, and as he was leaving the woman elder started heading over to the lumber piles, no doubt to find her husband.

_Holoska has the medicine now. _Sonic thought as he ran _That takes care of the northern hemisphere. Time to head back to Tail's lab._

X-X-X-X-X-X

When Sonic entered the lab, he found Shadow strapped into some kind of machine. There was a flat, metal slab, similar to that of an operating table, which Shadow was laying asleep on at a 45 degree angle. Above his head was a metal disk with a light on the inside rim. coming out of the disk was a wire that led to a needle in Shadow's arm. Seeing Shadow like this scared Sonic, not because he was hooked up to the machine, (Sonic had been in that position many times before. The machine was a sort of super x-ray Tails had built, capable of allowing visual of any part of a living body's interior.) but because of what it might mean for Shadow.

Sonic continued to stare at Shadow. After a minute Tails came out of his room. "Sonic," Tails said sadly, "About Shadow..."

"He has the disease," Sonic asked flatly, eyes not leaving the ebony counterpart, "doesn't he?" Tails nodded, conforming Sonic's fear. A lone tear rolled down Sonic's fawn cheek, confusing the golden kit.

"Shadow and I...we've been dating for the past year." Sonic explained, "Today was meant to be our one year anniversary. Now...All I want is for him to live." At saying this Sonic broke down, crying into the younger one's arms. Tails was at a loss as what to say. He had suspected that there was something going on between Sonic and Shadow, but not that his brother was gay. Either way, it didn't matter. Tails could see that the one person Sonic cared for more than anyone else was dying, and that gave Tails a feeling of both fear and sorrow.

For a few minutes, the kid did nothing but return the embrace, attempting to comfort the azure one. Soon enough though, Sonic noticed something on Tails' arm. Breaking the hug, Sonic stood up, and reached for the right arm of the kitsune. There, just beyond the shoulder, was a cotton swab taped onto the arm.

"Not you too..." Sonic managed to say, under his breath. Tails just chuckled before letting out a sigh. "Ya, I went before Shadow. I'm sick all right."

"Well why didn't you apply the cure yet?!" Sonic yelled.

"Because there's only one dose left." Tails answered, before quickly adding to answer his brother's next question, "And Connor killed himself, so there's no hope of making more. You could try to get a dose back that you delivered, but by the time you get back both Shadow and I will be dead. I'm really sorry Sonic, but there's no alternative. One of us _will _die."

X-X-X-X-X-X

I know, I'm a basterd. And Im an egear one too. I've been wanting to type this chapter ever since the idea for this story popped into my head.

So now you have a choice on who dies: The Boyfriend or The brother; Tails or Shadow. Leave a review telling me who you want to live. First to reach 15 votes wins, and naturally, I can't continue this story until that vote has been made. Just remember when you vote that if Shadow dies, Sonic is going to be heartbroken for the rest of his life, loosing his one true love, and if Tails dies, well, do I really need to explane the emotions there?

R&R, and be shure to vote! ^-^


End file.
